Regulator



April 8, 1941. B. F.IWADDELL REGULATOR Original Filed June 25, 1952- ATTORNEY i atented Apr. 8, 1941 NT fiFFiCE an. a, tanner is "me Wilcolator Companv, Newarir, hi, h, a corporation oi Delaware @rig'inai ahhl cation "lane till, llhtd, iilerial he.

193d, Serial No. dhhiiill (or. na es it ljfiaimiit iii he used tor various purposes, it odors particul ar advantages when used in temperature reedlators, such as an oven regulator, and accordina iv an embodiment oi the invention suitahie tor controlling oven temperatures will he descrihed and illustrated in detail. it will he understood, however, that the invention rnav he used for other purposes as well.

'Iiernperatin'e regulators i'or as ovens aenerah iv include a raisins havina as inlet and outlet ports and a valve in the casino ior controllinp' how throueh the outlet port. in one type oi has reaulator, the valve memher is actuated h an element in the casino," which responds to tem perature chanaes in the oven, and the valve memher is connected to this element ha a rod eirtendina through an openina in the valve mem her and movahle therein to accommodate ovenshoot, that is, to permit movement at the timernip-responsive element relative to the valve memher alter the latter is seated. in regular-:- tors at this type as devised heretofore, the valve is a'enerallv closed hi) seatinn oithe valve mom heron the rim oi a central openina in the casino" tormine a gas passaae hetween the inlet and out let ports, the passage in some instances also serv inn to accommodate a. valve adjustment shalt which entends throuehthe pas passaae train a temperature adjustment handle at the trout and the enema", With this construction, the open inn in the valve memher throuah which the rod irom the thermo responsive element eatends must he sealed toprevent the passaee oi aaa to the harmer when the valveis closed and the pro vision oi adeuuate sealina means involves an appreeiahle item at enpensel who ieature oi the present invention, there lore, resides/in the provision. at a novel am reau later includina a valve so constructed that, the

. connection hetween the thermo responsive ele Divided and this application time so,

the supply at tool to the oven hurner, a temperature adiustment handle, and a thermo-responsive element, these parts heina prei'erahlv arraneed in a straight line relation with the handle and the thermo-responsive element at onposite ends at a casing and the valve intermediate the ends at the casina. The valve is op" erahle hr the thermo-responsive element throuah a connection projection through an openinp in the valve memher and slidahle therein to accommodate over-shoot, and the connection is preterahlv adiustahle hv a shalt extending from the adjustment handle throuah a passaae in the easina which leads to the valve. However, this passaae is separate from the was passaae in. the valve seat, the as passaae hemp onset laterallv irom the passape, 'ldreierahlv, the pea passage surrounds the passaae tor the adjustment shaft and is separated thereirom hr an annular part at the canine, and when the valve is closed, the valve memher seats aaainst this annular part and thus closes the end of the as passase hour the openinn in the valve memher and irom the cor respondina end all the passaae lor the adinst ment shalt. rincordinalv, when the valve memher is seated the passage of as hetween the indill Bill

let and outlet ports is prevented, irrespective of the lit hetween the valve member and the (5011"- nectien entendinp therethroua'h.

For a hetter moderstandine oi the invention reterence may he had to the accompanying drawina", in which i is a longitudinal sectional view oi one term at the new remilator, and

Fine. h and d are reduced sectional views on the lines d h and t-t in his. l.

The valve oi the reaulator is illustrated in coniunction with my new valve suh-assemhlv includina the movahle element oi the valve, a himetal lic compensator and a temperature adjustment "means tor the valve, which snh -assemhlv is removahleirom the ventilator as a unit. This sale-- alssemhiw is descrihed in my copendine appli cation herial l lo. hlhh il, iiled June 23, rest. The new rea'ulator, as shown, comprises a housine mcludinn a hollow rear section iiltsecined to a hunt section it to term a main chaniher iii. hreierahlp, paelrinait in interposed between the housina sections to matte the chamher aas-tieht. it passaae it extends iorwardlv irom the chamher it throuah a hollow loose it at the treat end at the housina, and adjacent the passage it is a pas pessaae it which leads into the main chamtea. The passage it, as illustrated, is annular and is disposed in the irontsection ii concentrio with the passage l l so that the passages are separated by an annular wall 41. At its end, the wall I? is provided with a sharp annular rim l8 which coacts with a similar concentric rim It to form a double seat at the mouth of the passage I6 for a valve member 20. The casing is provided with an inlet 2! for admitting gas to the annular passage l6, and the valve member 20 and the seat l8l9 together form a control means for regulating the flow of gas from passage [8 through the chamber l2 to an outlet port 22 in the casing, which may be connected to an oven burner (not shown).

The valve member 20 is movable by thermoresponsive means which may take various forms but preferably comprises a bellows 23 sealed within a cup 23 connected to the rear end of the casing by bolts 23, the bellows and cup together forming an expansible and contractible chamber 23. The open end of the, cup 2% is sealed to the casing by an annulus 27 interposed between the rear end of the casing and a flange 24 on the cup. At its rear end, the cup 23 has an opening in which one end of a capillary tube 28 is sealed, the tube leading from the chamber 26 to a bulb (not shown) adapted to be located in the oven. The bulb, tube and chamber 26 are filled with a thermo-responsive liquid, such as chlorinated diphenol. A headed pin 38 is seated against the end of the bellows and extends forwardly into chamber [2 through the annulus 21 and a central opening in the rear end of the casing, the front end of the pin being reduced, as shown at 38'. A spring 3| coiled around pin 38 bears at one end against the rear end of the casing and at the opposite end against the head of the pin and tends to expand the bellows and compress the liquid in chamber 28.

The valvemember 20 is operable by pin 30 through a suitable connection which, as shown, comprises a metal strap 32 disposed in chamber I2 and formed with a central opening through which the reduced end 30' of pin 30 extends, the strap being normally seated against a shoulder 33 on the pin adjacent the reduced end thereof. The ends of strap 32 are inclined forwardly relative to the central portion thereof and are reduced in width at their extremities to form lugs 34. A strip of corrugated bimetal 35 is seated in front of the strap 32 against the inclined ends thereof and is provided with lugs 36 similar to the lugs 34, the lugs 34 and 36 extending through openings in the legs of a U-shaped retainer 31 made of spring metal. The ends of the retainer are bent backwardly and its intermediate portion has an opening through which a square, headed rod 38 extends,

the head of the rod engaging the rear face of retainer 31 and normally bearing against the central corrugation of the strip 35.

The rod 38 extends forwardly through a central opening in valve member 20 and is formed at its front end with a reduced, threaded portion 3'8. The rod fits relatively loosely in the opening in the valve member, and the edges of the opening are rounded so that the valve member may adjust itself on the rod to seat properly on the valve seat I8l9. Coiled around the rod 38 is a spring 39 which bears at one end against the retainer 31 and at the opposite end against the valve member 20. An adjustment nut 38 threaded on the reduced end of the rod normally engages the front face of valve member 23 and may be screwed on the rod to adjust the valve member.

The nut 30 is adjustable on rod 38 by adjustment means which preferably comprises a hollow shaft 32 extending through the passage H and the hollow boss l5 and rotatable by a temperature adjustment dial 33 in front of the housing. A shoulder 33 on the shaft normally engages a coacting shoulder in the passage l4, thereby determining the axial position of the shaft in the casing. At its inner end, the shaft 82 is formed with longitudinal slots 42' into which a plurality of radial lugs 30' on the adjustment nut 38 extend. A coil spring 45 in the shaft is seated at one end against the internal face of shoulder 83 and at its opposite end against the nut and serves the dual func-' tion of urging the strap 32 against shoulder 33 and taking up any looseness of the nut on rod 38.

When the oven is not in use, the dial &5 is in its off position wherein the nut is disposed near the left end of the rod 38 and the spring 39 urges the valve member against its seat. In starting the oven, the dial is turned so as to rotate the shaft and screw the nut 48 to the right, as seen in Fig. 1. The nut thus forces the valve member away from its seat along the pin 38 against the action of the spring, the distance through which the valve member is moved being determined by the desired temperature setting of the dial. As the oven commences to heat, the expansion of the liquid in the bulb causes the bellows to collapse, and as a result. the pin 30 acts through the strap 32, the bimetallic strip 35 and the rod 38 to move the nut 38 to the left. The valve member is, therefore, moved toward its seat and throttles the flow of gas from the inlet 2 to the oven burner. When the temperature of the oven corresponds to the temperature for whichthe dial is set, the valve member is held in a throttling position in which it allows just enough gas to pass to the burner to maintain the oven at the desired temperature. Thereafter, any cooling of the oven causes the bellows to expand, whereby the spring 45 moves rod 38 and the valve member to the right to admit a greater amount of gas to the burner.

If the oven temperature should rise above the temperature for which the dial is set, the valve member is moved by the bellows against the seat l8--l9 so as to cut off the flow of gas to the burner. If the chamber 26 should then continue to expand for any reason, the rod 38 is moved to the left through the valve member so as to disengage the nut from the valve member and compress the springs 39 and 45." When the oven cools, the contraction of chamber 26 allows spring 45 to move the rod to the right and reengage the nut 'with the valve member, after which further contraction of the chamber causes the rod and the nut to move the valve member away from the seat. It will be apparent that in adjusting the regulator from a high temperature setting to a lower one, the'dial is turned so as to screw the nut 48 outwardly on rod 38, whereby the spring 39 moves the valve member along the rod toward the seat.

In some installations, the regulator may be mounted on a range near. an open burner which might heat and expand the liquid in chamber 28. Such expansion of the liquid would cause a false actuation of the valve, unless suitable provision were made to counteract the action of the external heat. In the new regulator, when the liquid in chamber 26 expands due to external aaemee compensates for the liquid expansion in chamber it. liquid in chamber it to cool, causing pin db to move to the right, the compensating strip bows in theopposite direction so as to force the that is, lengthwise of the housing. The screw id is provided with shoulders bill and bill at opposite When the external. heat source permits the ends of the threaded portion thereof, and these shoulders coact with shoulders in the casing to form grease or packing chambers acting as a double seal. A bypass it may be provided in the casing between the annular passage it and the main chamber ii, and the flow of gas through the bypass may be regulated by an adjustment screw bi similar to screw til.

It will be apparent that by reason of the dou ble valve seat id-Ilt, the rod it maybe fitted relatively loosely in the valve member it, be-- cause when the valve member is seated it closes the gas passage it in the valve seat from the central opening in the valve member. Thus, the new regulator is provided with an adjustable connection extending through the valve member from the thermo-i'esponsive element, but does not require the usual means for sealing the opening in the valve member around this connection to prevent leakage when the valve is closed. by removing the hollow section iii of the housing from the front section, the rod lit, the valve momher and the adjustment nut may be removed as a unit to permit cleaning of the valve.

1 claim:

i. in a valve, a housing having a chamber therein, a recess in a wall of the chamber, and a fluid passage terminating in a-valve seat adia cent the recess, a valve member enacting with the seat and having an opening therein overly ing the recess, the valve member being operable when seated to close the fluid passage from said therein, a recess in a wall of the chamber, and

a fluid passage terminating in a valve seat adjacent the recess, a valve member coacting with the seat and having an opening therein overlying the recess, the valve member being operable when seated to close the fluid passage from said recess and opening, an actuating element eutending through said opening and operable tomove the valve member relative to the seat, said element being movable through the valve member into said recess when the valve member is seated, and an adjustment nut in the recess threaded on the actuating element for moving the valve momber relative to the seat and said element.

i. in a valve, a housing having a chamber therein, a recess in a wall of the chamber, and a fluid passage terminating in a valve seat adjacent the recess, a valve member coasting with the seat and having an opening therein overlying the recess, the valve member being operable when seated to close the fluid passage from said recess and opening, an actuating element eutending through said opening and operable to move the valve member relative to the seat, said element being movable through the valve member into said recess when the valve member is seated, a member in the recess threaded on said element and operable to adjust the valve member relative to the seat and said element, and a spring urging the valve member toward said threaded member.

5. ii. valve comprising a valve body having-a bore therein and a fluid passage substantially surrounding the bore and separated therefrom, a valve member for closing one end of the passage and having an opening therein overlying the bore when the valve member is seated, an actuating element extending through said opening and movable therein, and means in the bore for adjusting the valve member on said element.

ii. in a fluid regulator, a housing having a bore therein and a fluid passage disposed around a the wall of the bore and terminating in a double seat adjacent one end of the bore, a valve member coacting with the seat and having an open" ing therein, the valve member being operable when seated to close the passage from said open= recess and opening, and an actuating element k for moving the valve member relative to the seat, said element extending through said open- "ing and being movable through the valve memthe recess, the valve member being operable when seated to close the fluid passage fro said recess and opening, an actuating element eirtend i ing through said opening and operable to move thevalve member to the seat, said element being movable through the valve member into said recess When the valve member is seated, and

means in the recess for adjusting the valve member relative to the seat and the actuating element.

3. in a valve, a housing having a chamber ing and the adjacent end of the bore, and a thermo-responsive element eiitending through said opening tor moving the valve member, said element being movable through the opening when the valve member is seated.

i. in a fluid regulator, a housing having a bore therein and a fluid passage disposed around the wall of the bore and terminating in double seat adjacent one end of the bore, avalve mom'- ber enacting with the seat and having an opening therein, the valve member being operable when seated to close the passage from said opening and v the adjacent end of the bore, a thermo responaive element eirtending through said opening for mov ing the valve member, said element being provable through the opening when the valve momher is seated, an abutment in the bore disposed on said element and engageable with the valve member to move said member away from the responsive element extending through said opening for moving the valve member, said element being movable through the opening when the valve member is seated, an abutment in the bore disposed on said element and engageable with the valve member to move said member away from the seat, and a spring in the bore normally urging said abutment toward the valve member.

9. In a fluid regulator, a housing having a bore therein and a fluid passage disposed around the wall of the bore and terminating in a double seat adjacent one end of the bore, a valve member coacting with the seat and having an opening therein, the valve member being operable when seated to close the passage from said opening and the adjacent end of the bore, a thermo-responsive element extending through said opening for moving the valve member, said element being movable through the opening when the valve member is seated, an abutment in the bore adjustable on said element and engageable with the valve member to move said member away from the seat, a shaft rotatable in the bore to adjust said abutment and projecting through the front of the housing, and a temperature adjustment handle mounted on the shaft.

10. In a fluid regulator, a housing having a chamber therein and a bore leading into the chamber, the housing also having a fluid passage disposed around the wall of the bore and terminating in a double seat in the chamber adjacent one end of the bore, a valve member coacting with the seat and having an opening therein overlying the bore, said member being operable when seated to close the passage from the chamber is seated, and a bypass extending radially from said passage and terminating in the chamber outwardly from the valve seat.

11. In a valve, 9. housing having an annular passage and a second passage Within the inner Wall of the annular passage, the inner and outer walls of the annular passage terminating in a double seat, a valve member engageable with the seat to close the annular passage from said second passage, a valve stem extending through the valve member into the second passage and movable through the valve member when said member is seated, an abutment on the stem dis posed in the second passage and engageable with the valve member to move the member away from the seat, a spring for urging the valve member against the abutment, and means extending through the second passage for adjusting the position of the abutment 0n the stem-to vary the setting of the valve member.

12. In a valve, a housing having an annular passage and a second passage within the inner wall of the annular passage, the inner and outer walls of the annular passage terminating in a double seat, a valve member engageable with the seat to close the annular passage from said second passage, a valve stem extending through the valve member into the second passage and movable through the valve member when said member is seated, an abutment on the stem disposed in the second passage and engageable with the valve member to move the member away from the seat, a spring for urging the valve member against the abutment, and a rotatable shaft extending through the second passage and sealing the same, the shaft being connected to the abutment and being operable to adjust the position of the abutment on the stem to vary the setting of the valve member.

BENSON F. WADDELL. 

